Fairfield tips off against the Hawks at 4:30pm on Sunday on ESPN3. Given the finish of their game on Saturday night, the Stags will have less than 15 hours from exiting the court to be ready for one of the best teams in the MAAC.

“They’ve got to ice and get some rest and we’re going to get back to the hotel, get some food and watch some film, but we’re going to be joyful to play tomorrow,” head coach Sydney Johnson said. “We’re going to enjoy this experience and try to keep our season going as long as possible.”

The Stags won their 19th game on Saturday night, the first time they accomplished that since their last trip to the MAAC semifinals where they fell to Manhattan in Springfield in 2013.

However, this time they will face Monmouth, but Tyler Nelson who had 15 points and five rebounds said that they will be prepared to play when the time comes.

“Fatigue is the last thing on our minds,” Nelson said. “Tomorrow I think we have a great opportunity to go out there and play against clearly the best team in the league right now, so I don’t think anyone’s going to complain about being tired. I think we’re going to go home, get some rest, eat some food and watch some film. We’ll wake up fired up tomorrow and be ready to go.”

Ryan Restivo wrote the America East conference preview for the 2015-16 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. He covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the America East conference among others for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo or contact Ryan at rrestivo[at]nycbuckets.com.